


Rough

by Nomolosk



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Akumatized Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Angst, Bad Parent Gabriel Agreste, Bunnyx does some research before jumping to conclusions, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, No erased timeline, Sad with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:41:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24797860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nomolosk/pseuds/Nomolosk
Summary: In an alternate universe in which people aren’t absolute idiots, Bunnyx turns to a different source to deal with Chat Blanc, while she goes to have a talk with Ladybug.Or, the Chat Blanc/Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover that no one (but my husband) asked for.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Nathalie Sancoeur, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Mai/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Comments: 30
Kudos: 123





	Rough

**Author's Note:**

> I was ranting about this episode to my husband the other night, and he tried to cheer me up by telling me to imagine Zuko listening to all this, then patting Chat on the back and saying, "That's rough, buddy."
> 
> So you can thank him for this. ;)
> 
> Many thanks to the beta readers who helped me expand and polish this!  
> Khanofallorcs  
> LiminalShadow  
> sseagully  
> Stellarstylus  
> KishoShep

_ “Little Kitty on a roof, all alone without his lady...” _

Chat Blanc sat on the edge of the roof of Montparnasse Tower, overlooking the flooded buildings below. He was having a lucid day, so he was singing an old song he could only remember a few words to. He wondered who had first sung it to him. Being an akuma really messed with his memory. Sometimes he could recall things with striking detail, other times everything was a wash of emotion. 

Sometimes the akuma within him would stir, making him restless, and then he would go on a tour of all he had destroyed, searching uselessly for the one thing he couldn’t obtain- the miraculous which would let him reverse all his past mistakes. Usually this tour ended with the lichened statues of the two most important figures in his life, submerged at the base of the toppled Eiffel Tower. Somewhere in the back of his altered mind he always hoped that perhaps  _ this _ time, one of them would come back to him, just so he could stop living in this hellish limbo.

But today he could think for himself, so he’d come up here to watch the seagulls and see if he could spot a passing ship. He was almost sure he had destroyed everyone, but on days like today he thought that the world was  _ big _ and surely, surely there was someone still alive out there. And maybe, just maybe they would one day come to investigate the source of the disaster he’d unleashed.

A sudden and completely unexpected downdraft of air hit Chat Blanc, nearly knocking him off the roof and into the water. His claws automatically dug into the concrete, bracing him against the wind.

“Whoa, what happened here?” came a youthful, awed voice from behind (and above?) him. Chat Blanc released his claws from the roof’s edge and cautiously looked over his shoulder.

What he saw defied explanation. A creature the size of two shipping containers and vaguely resembling illustrations he’d seen of a bison, or perhaps a buffalo, had appeared on the roof behind him. The differences were that the fur was white and shaggy rather than wooly, and it had six legs and a massive, flat furred tail. 

Utterly at a loss, Chat Blanc stared. On top of the bison-creature was some kind of platform with a low rim, over which seven faces looked down on him. The eighth face, belonging to a bald monk-looking fellow with weird blue arrows tattooed on his head and down his arms, looked down on him from the head of the impossible bison. He looked to be slightly younger than Chat Blanc himself and wore loose garments of orange and red.

The other people on the back of the bison consisted of two more boys and five girls, one of whom was currently leaning over the side of the platform and groaning. She had short black hair, and she was obviously blind.

“Can I get off now? That trip was the worst we’ve ever done!”

“Sure, Toph, just be careful. There’s a weird, bleached cat-boy up here with us, and there’s water all around.” One of the other boys spoke up. He was wearing blue and had a man-bun with shaved sides. “Speaking of,” he looked back at Chat Blanc, pursing his lips a little as he stroked his chin. “Is it even safe to land here? I mean, what if this thing is structurally unsound?”

One of the girls- also wearing blue- scoffed and moved to assist the other one- wearing green and white- to the ground, holding her hands securely until her feet touched the roof. “If it’s structurally unsound, we’ll just take off again, Sokka,” the blue girl said. “Plus, you know,” she continued, gesturing to herself, “-water-bender! I’m pretty sure we’ll be okay.”

The boy called Sokka grumbled a little more as the others disembarked, but eventually gave in and slid down the side of the bison to join the others. The boy on the bison’s head did a neat little twirl and twist through the air, before landing lightly on his toes. Chat Blanc blinked again.

He’d really thought he was doing well today, but… this was the most bizarre hallucination he’d had yet. It was almost like watching an anime. His mind shied away from that thought before it had a chance to hurt him by digging up old memories.

“Whoa,” the blind girl- Toph?- said. “I can feel a lot. There are a ton of empty rooms below… how tall is this building? Oh, I see… metal beams- extremely high grade. I’m impressed! I’d have to really concentrate to bend this metal. Oh, and there is something seriously wrong with whoever that is.” She pointed straight at him while continuing to stare at nothing in particular. 

Everyone turned to look at Chat, who merely shrugged. After all, she wasn’t wrong. And it didn’t really matter if hallucinations said things that didn’t make sense. They weren’t real, after all. The tattooed boy stepped forward. 

“Hi, I’m the Avatar. My name’s Aang. We were told that someone needed our help here?”

“It’s only me here,” Chat Blanc said.

Everyone looked around again.

“It looks like a ruined city,” The other nameless boy spoke up. He wore dark red and black robes- another thing that reminded Chat of anime- and his voice was a little deeper than the others and rougher. Chat Blanc also noticed a pretty nasty burn scar that had clearly only missed taking out his left eye by the narrowest of margins. Seriously, he knew he’d been out here a while, but where was his mind getting this stuff?

“It is a ruined city,” Chat Blanc said, turning away again. It wasn’t a good idea to interact with hallucinations, he knew that, but… he’d been alone for so long, and who was there to be offended with his break from reality? No one, that’s who.

“So what happened? Rogue water-bender?” 

Chat Blanc sighed. “I don’t know what that is, but no. It was me. I did this.” He didn’t need to glance over his shoulder to register the shock of these strange visitors. 

“... Why?” 

From the sound of the voice, it was the bald kid- Aang- who asked that question.

“I-I-I…” Chat Blanc stuttered, trying and failing to get the words out. Panic rose and the deep-seated grief that he’d been suppressing for so long threatened to overwhelm him. The akuma stirred and a reflexive Cataclysm flared to life in his hand but he clenched his fist, willing it away. In a way, the need to suppress his destructive capabilities helped him regain some measure of control. Hallucinations weren’t worth the expenditure of energy. He did wonder, though, why every single one of his fleeting visions seemed bound and determined to torture him.

“I was akumatized,” he said in a low voice, not caring if it was even loud enough to reach them. “And Ladybug didn’t save me.”

There was silence from behind him.

“Well, that doesn’t make any sense,” a bright and chipper and feminine voice said. Then a few moments later, the same voice said, “What? It’s true! What he said explains nothing!”

Chat Blanc sighed, closing his eyes.

“I don’t really feel like explaining more, because I know you’re just a figment of my imagination, and what’s the use in telling myself what I already know?” he said, staring up at the westering sun.

Something touched his shoulder. Chat Blanc actually jumped, hissing in surprise. That was a hand! A  _ hand _ had touched his shoulder!

He whirled, staring wide-eyed at the people- the  _ people _ !- surrounding him before he suddenly darted rapidly from one to the next, touching each of them, full of manic joy. He didn’t notice the akuma influencing his thoughts and voice.

“You’re real! You’re all real! Ha ha! That means she’s back!” He spun in a joyous circle. “Have you seen her? Where is she? Will she be here soon? I can’t wait to see my Lady again!”

He danced around a bit, daydreaming a beautiful reunion in which Marinette would open her arms to him and dance with him and kiss him before giving him her earrings. Because, of course, she would understand that this was the best course. Who wanted to live in a ruined world after all?

A real voice brought him crashing back down to earth.

“How long have you been alone?” The question was full of awed horror.

Chat blinked and shook his head, ignoring it. His joy had shattered along with his daydream, but the akuma was now roused and he felt the need to roam so he paced the edges of the roof looking for the solution to all his problems. Besides, there was no real way to tell. He remembered it snowing a few times, but he had no way of tracking the seasons or years, nor any desire to.

He only realized he was crying when the girl in blue handed him a scrap of cloth. He wiped his eyes and cleared his nose before thanking her quietly. Slowly, he began to explain.

“Hawkmoth… He called himself Hawkmoth and he used butterflies infused with evil magic to turn people into monstrous versions of themselves. He sent them out into the city to wreak havoc and destruction, looking to steal our Miraculouses. Ladybug was the one who could break the curse and free them, as well as restoring all the damage they did so that nothing ever stayed broken or destroyed for long. 

We fought his akumas for a long time, trying to find him so we could stop him, but then… he found out who we were, and… and I found out who he was, and… he used that to akumatize  _ me _ ,” Chat Blanc said, staring at the roof in shame. “I used to be Chat Noir, Ladybug’s partner. But when we finally discovered Hawkmoth, he…” he shook his head, shying away from that memory. He took a shuddering breath. “I tried to stop myself. I really did. I tried to turn the Cataclysm on me. Because if I couldn’t fight it, at least I could take myself out. But it backfired. The energy built and built and it… it didn’t touch me,  _ couldn’t  _ touch me, no matter what I wanted! Eventually I couldn’t contain it anymore, and well…” He flung out a white-gloved hand, indicating the state of the city around him. 

“Once enough power had bled off, I must have redirected it, although I don’t remember that part,” Chat Blanc continued, his eyes finding the pale image of the shattered moon in the sky.

“Yue!” 

The strangled cry came from the boy called Sokka. One of the other girls- in green and gold- put a comforting hand on his arm and he gratefully sagged into her ready embrace. Chat Blanc looked away, trying not to remember how he had often done the same with Ladybug.

“Calm down, Sokka, I’m pretty sure that’s not  _ our _ moon, so it’s not the moon-spirit that used to be Yue, either,” Aang spoke up. “This Hawkmoth,” he said, turning back to Chat Blanc. “Is he still around? Do you need help to defeat him?”

Chat Blanc shook his head slowly. “There might be some hope for me if he were still around, but I killed him, too, in the original blast. He’s down there, somewhere, or maybe he’s dissolved into ash and floated away on the currents by now.” He pointed over to where the feet of the toppled Eiffel Tower poked up above the water level.

“Ash?” the scarred boy asked.

Chat Blanc called a very small Cataclysm and used it on the scrap of cloth he’d already destroyed with his akuma-snot. A small hole with glowing edges slowly ate the cloth from the center out, leaving nothing but a few sparks that quickly faded.

“It’s my power,” he said quietly. “I can destroy anything I touch. It’s almost the same as when I was Chat Noir, except it had pretty decent limits on it then. Being an akuma, though… there are no more limits. No more timer, no more waiting around to recharge… no more Plagg,” he mused in an almost sing-song.

“Well, Toph?” Aang asked when he didn’t say anything further, turning to the blind girl.

“He’s telling the truth,” she said. “But… I think there’s something he’s holding back.”

Chat Blanc closed his eyes again, frowning in renewed pain. Yet he needed to be honest with these people if he wanted a chance to escape this nightmare. It was pretty clear by now that Marinette- Ladybug- would not be returning from the grave.

“Hawkmoth… he was my  _ father _ ,” he managed to choke out around a new wave of tears. “I… we were enemies for so long without even  _ knowing! _ And then, once he knew, he…!”

Someone crouched beside him, laying a comforting arm around his shoulders. “That’s rough, buddy.”

Something about the tone made Chat Blanc believe that this one- the scarred boy, by the rough voice- knew something of what Chat was feeling. So… he let himself lean into the offered comfort.

\----

It took a while to explain everything so that everyone understood the situation and what had caused it. They had a hard time grasping the concept that magic in Chat Blanc’s world didn’t come from within a person, but from magical jewels that served as conduits for the power to flow from a kwami to the person using it. They kept trying to connect the magic of the miraculous to what they called the “elements,” which turned out to be the literal interpretation of the Greeks' understanding of what made up the building blocks of life- earth, air, fire, and water. What was most impressive to Chat Blanc was the fact that some of them really could control those physical aspects.

However, Aang grasped the idea of being overpowered by someone else’s will quickly enough. Several of the others looked uncomfortable, and the girl wearing blue- Katara- and Zuko- the one with the scar- both gave Aang a hug. 

Chat Blanc felt nothing. Perhaps at one time he would have been jealous to see someone with such a large and close friend group that they seemed like family. But when he was in his right mind, he tried not to let himself feel much of anything at all. Bad things tended to happen when he was emotional.

“Ok,” said Ty Lee- the girl who had originally complained about Chat’s explanation not making sense. “So if I have this right, your dad was an evil magic user who abused his powers to turn ordinary people into powerful villains, and you and your partner used to fight against him all the time... but you didn’t know who either of them really were?”

Chat Blanc nodded, though he smiled slightly. “Yes. Part of the power of the jewels is that they make it a lot harder for people to recognize you when you are transformed. It’s not just the mask,” he said, indicating his own snow-white one. “I’m not sure exactly how it works, but there’s something that distracts, or redirects attention if someone is getting close to guessing. But if the suspicion is too strong or something happens that makes it obvious, then the magic breaks and you can recognize the person. I didn’t know who My Lady really was until she accidentally delivered a package from her  _ civilian _ identity as her  _ superhero _ identity. The parallels, and how I felt about her even as a civilian… the connection was too strong, and the Miraculous magic gave way. That’s how I found out.” He sighed, wishing that it had never happened. If he hadn’t found out- but he shied away from that thought again. “She didn’t find out who I was until I was stupid enough to transform right in front of her.”

“Well, yeah, she would figure you out then,” Mai said in her laconic voice that reminded him of Juleka. He winced at the mental comparison.

“It wasn’t just her, though. I’ve had a lot of time to think about it, and… I think that’s when Hawkmoth figured me out, too. After all, Marinette had just broken up with me, and I didn’t understand. I ran after her to try and talk about it, but then I saw the butterfly going for her. I didn’t think, I just transformed so I could destroy it. I couldn’t fight her, I just couldn’t. I loved her. And besides, I couldn’t let Ladybug be akumatized.” He paused. “Now, of course, I realize that transforming out in the open like that, only a few meters away from my own house… the house that  _ Hawkmoth _ also called home? Of course he would have been watching. He probably orchestrated that break-up… threatened Marinette with something so he could force her to do it and then akumatize her afterwards using her hurt and guilt.” He got quieter as he added, “I always just thought my father wasn’t good with people, but that he did actually care deep down. Now I know he was purposely hurting at least some of them so he could get what he wanted.”

“It’s hard when parents aren’t the people they should be,” Zuko said. Katara, Sokka, and Toph all nodded, followed by Ty Lee. Mai, Suki, and Aang just looked on with pity in their eyes. It made Chat Blanc wonder briefly just what all these teens had been through. With Zuko’s comment, it seemed they all had some kind of parental drama… as awful as it sounded, it made him feel a little less alone.

\----

Ladybug had just alighted on a rooftop after leaving Adrien’s room when a portal opened in front of her and Bunnyx jumped out.

“Waah!” she cried, nearly losing her balance.

“Sorry, minibug, but we need to talk. Let’s go to your place, okay?”

“Um, sure?”

It was a tense few minutes, swinging through the city then. She was supposed to meet the girls back at their picnic spot, so she could proudly declare she’d actually given Adrien the beret... but this took precedence. Bunnyx had elected to arrive via her Burrow, so Ladybug was left alone to contemplate what it was that Bunnyx wanted to tell her. It probably wasn’t good, so she tried to mentally steel herself.

Once she got home, she detransformed and went downstairs to fetch some cookies and snacks for both Fluff and Alix.

“What do you think this is about, Tikki?” she asked, climbing back up through her skylight.

“I don’t know, Marinette,” the little kwami said. “But the Rabbit Miraculous holder is usually in charge of making sure the timeline doesn’t get changed too much, so it must be about that somehow.”

Another portal opened just as Marinette was placing the plates on her little table and Bunnyx stepped out again. Looking around, she detransformed, leaving an older (and cooler) Alix standing there, handing a carrot to Fluff.

“Have a croissant,” Marinette offered, before sitting down in her chair and waving Alix to the other. Some time ago, she’d added another one, just because Chat sometimes stopped by and she felt bad making him sit on the roof itself. It made things more crowded, but it was worth it.

“Thanks, I’ve missed these,” Alix snagged a croissant and practically inhaled it. “Now,” she said, brushing a few crumbs from her shirt, “we need to talk about Chat Blanc.”

Marinette froze. “Who?”

“Your partner, who will get akumatized in the near future. He will cease to be Chat Noir, and become Chat Blanc. I’ll let you imagine the costume changes for yourself- it’s pretty self-explanatory. And Marinette… it’s bad. My present- your future- is already fading.”

Marinette shuddered, fear and anger mingling in an explosive combination. “That stupid cat!”

“Hey,” Alix said, putting a calming hand on her shoulder. “It’s not like that. This wasn’t him being stupid or getting in the way, or even getting emotional over a trifle. This was... oh, a landslide of bad news and worse news.”

“So, you know what happened to him?” Marinette said, brought back to earth by Alix’s seriousness.

“Of course I know! What would be the use of grabbing you willy-nilly and tossing you into a situation neither of us fully understands?”

“But I shouldn’t know anything about what happened! It could lead me to his identity!”

“What was it you used to say to me? Don’t put the noodles in until the water is ready? Well, think of this as me looking to see if the water is ready, and guess what, Minibug- the water’s boiling merrily along. I’ll hold back as much as I can, but something irrevocable happened today, and now we have to deal with the consequences.”

“So what can you tell me?” Marinette asked carefully. She knew she wasn’t supposed to discover who Chat Noir was, but if it meant the difference between him being akumatized or not… she was sure Master Fu would understand.

Alix sighed. “What I can tell you is that he got akumatized when you went up against Hawkmoth, just the two of you. There was some surprising and distressing information that came out, and Hawkmoth used that against him. After that… well, it seems like Hawkmoth was trying to get him to kill you, and you were trying to calm him down, and I think he couldn’t choose who to aim at, and couldn’t control his powers, so… he turned the Cataclysm on himself.” Alix took another croissant and crammed it into her mouth. She looked away, but Marinette thought she saw moisture in her eyes. 

Alix was not the type to cry over little things.

“Anyway, from what I could piece together after that, his Super Cataclysm grew and grew and until he couldn’t contain it anymore. It ended up destroying most of Paris before he managed to aim the rest up at the sky. It shattered the moon.” Alix sighed and wiped her eyes. “The upshot of all this is that Paris is destroyed, everyone who could help fix it is dead, and the moon being shattered changed the tides, so a lot of things are underwater that shouldn’t be.”

Marinette covered her mouth, eyes wide with horror. “W-what about Chat?” she whispered. “What happened to him?”

“He’s still there. He never left the city, he’s still an akuma, and… well, I’m going to need you to fix this. And soon. I’ll be sending you into a future where he’s been alone for a long time. I had to wait, you see. He went more than a little crazy afterwards, but as far ahead as I’m sending you, hopefully that will have faded. I did send him some people who I hope can help get him back in touch with reality.”

“People to help him? Why didn’t you take  _ me _ there immediately?” Marinette yelled, startling Jacques, who had fluttered down to her railing while Alix told her story. “ _ I’m _ his partner,  _ I _ should be the one helping him!”

“Because he wouldn’t-” she cut herself off. “Listen to me, Marinette. He’s an  _ akuma _ . And you’re  _ Ladybug _ . Even without Hawkmoth’s influence, his first thought on seeing you will be to get your miraculous.” Alix said. “Besides, he might say something to make you think this is your fault somehow, and I wanted those other people to talk some sense back into him first.”

“ _ My _ fault?”

“It’s not, of course,” Alix said hurriedly. “It’s Hawkmoth- it’s always  _ been _ Hawkmoth.”

Marinette shook her head a little. “Wait. Where did you get these other people from?”

“It’s one of my lesser known abilities- the old guardian might not have told you yet. Sometimes… when it’s an emergency, I can sometimes go to other dimensions or universes to get help. So I found a group of kids who won’t judge Chat for what he did and sent them over to help him get his head on straight. They’re from a different universe and their magic is strange, but… they’ve been through just as much as Chat has, so there’s common ground there. Without Hawkmoth’s influence Ad-... Chat will hopefully be more receptive to people who  _ know _ , who’ve  _ been there _ , telling him it’s not hopeless. By the time we get there, I hope he’s at a point where he won’t just attack you for your Miraculous so he can make a Wish to turn back time.”

“And you’re sure  _ I _ couldn’t have told him it wasn’t his fault?”   
  


“He wouldn’t have believed you,” Alix said, gently this time. “He idolizes you, Marinette. In- in so many ways.” 

Marinette had the feeling she was going to say something else before correcting it. She looked down. “What do you need me to do?”

“What you do best- get the akuma, purify it, and fix this mess.”

“But… will that even work after all this time?”

“I don’t know, but it’s a place to start.”

Marinette exchanged a look with Tikki, and her expression firmed. “Okay. Let’s do this! Let’s go save Chat!”

\----

Chat Blanc was infinitely grateful for these strangers who had shown up out of nowhere and offered unqualified support. But it wasn’t like they could really do anything. He could ask them to break his bell- he’d tried to do it himself, many times, but the akuma trapped inside it wouldn’t let him. If he did that, it would still leave an unpurified akuma flying free. He still hoped someone had survived his apocalypse, and he wasn’t willing to chance letting it multiply. And without Ladybug to purify it… it was just better if it remained contained. Although, he wasn’t sure just how much of that reasoning was also the akuma’s influence.

It also seemed like they were waiting on something else to happen. To pass the time, they showed off their abilities, trying to one-up each other.

Katara showed off her water-bending- the magic that let her control water, moving it around, making it freeze or thaw or turn to snow. It was beautiful. She would have made a truly terrifying akuma.

Toph said she was an earth-bender. And though there wasn’t really any earth around here for her to bend- not safely, anyway, since the only earth-like substances near here were making up the roof they all stood on- she did impress him with her uncanny ability to know where people were and whether they were telling the truth or not.

Sokka was a wizard with his boomerang, and when Chat heard he used a sword as well sometimes, he ached to be able to fence with him, just to see what kind of style he used. But he didn’t have a sword with him, and Chat Blanc was too strong to take on any ordinary human without risk of injury.

Suki- who appeared to be Sokka’s girlfriend- used metal-bladed fans which reminded Chat of Mayura. Fortunately, while formidable, these didn’t have any ability to turn objects into monsters. Ty Lee had an impressive and scary pressure point attack and the acrobatic grace and flexibility of a gymnast. And Mai could pin a fly to the wall with her stiletto knives. Any of them could have taken on Kagami in a fair fight and probably won.

Zuko’s power was the most like Chat’s himself. He could create and control fire, from the largest flare to the tiniest ember. It was fascinating and a little terrifying.

And then there was Aang. Aang was the last of the air nomads, and could control the air itself. Although, technically, he could also control all the  _ other _ elemental magics. That, apparently, was what made him the Avatar. Chat Blanc just thanked his lucky stars that Hawkmoth was already dead, because he was fairly sure the villain would have done anything just for a  _ chance _ at akumatizing any one of them. And after what he’d done to Marinette, and what he’d done to his own son? Chat did not want to think about just how far his father would have gone. Fortunately  _ that _ was all a moot point. 

After everyone got tired of showing each other up, they settled down in a rough circle. Chat was introduced to Appa- the massive bison creature- who could apparently  _ fly _ , though Chat didn’t see how that was possible. Appa had sort of grumbled at him and nudged him with a huge, wet nose. Chat had hesitantly, and carefully, scratched under his fur, which had made Appa close his eyes and sigh in bliss.

Now they were all just talking, swapping embarrassing stories, and just… being friends. Chat even found himself participating, telling them all how he and Marinette had gotten caught up in what was surely the stupidest romantic situation known to man.  _ He _ had fallen in love with her as her superhero alter-ego, while  _ she _ had fallen in love with his ordinary civilian self. Both of them had overlooked the other in half of their lives because the miraculous magic wouldn’t let them see the other for what they really were.

“I wonder if that’s why we can understand each other,” Ty Lee mused. “If these ‘kwami’ things power the jewels, and they have a latent magic that makes people dismiss the users, then maybe there’s a translation element as well. I mean, what if you have to fight with or against someone from a different kingdom and you couldn’t understand them because of their accent?”

Everyone stared at her. Chat tilted his head, wondering how this bubbly girl had looked deep enough to understand that, by all rights, they shouldn’t be able to communicate effectively at all. They were from completely different universes, after all.

Before any of them could think of that too much, Toph started speculating on whether she could identify a Miraculous user when they weren’t transformed, assuming she could meet them in both aspects. 

“After all, I can’t  _ see _ any of you, but I can definitely tell you apart, and not just by the way you sound.”

Chat found himself chuckling. “Well, if I can ever detransform again, you might have the chance to find out.” He paused. It suddenly hit him that he didn’t know how they’d gotten there... and he didn’t know how long they were staying. 

“Hey,” he said slowly, wondering if he really wanted to open this can of worms. Wouldn’t it be better to  _ not _ know? That way he could just enjoy them while they were there, without worrying about how much longer they could stay. After all, they had lives to get back to. While he…

“What’s wrong?” Katara asked when Chat was silent for too long.

“I… I just wondered. How did you all get here?” He finally asked quietly. “And how long are you staying?”

They all looked at each other. Then Aang said, “This really weird lady popped out of a hole in space. I didn’t even know that was possible! Anyway, she said someone needed our help, so… we came.”

“‘A really weird lady?’” Chat repeated.

“Yeah, she was wearing something kind of like what you are, mask and everything. But her outfit was blue and white and the ears on her head were long and pointy, like a gopher-rabbit.”

“A what?” Chat blinked. “Nevermind. Anyway, blue-and-white suit with a mask and pointy ears… did she have a five pointed parasol?”

“What’s a parasol?” Zuko asked.

“It’s a fancy umbrella,” all the girls answered at once, even Toph. There was a beat of silence before they all started giggling together while Zuko blushed. Chat found himself smiling.

Sokka hung an arm around Zuko’s neck and said, “Yes, she had a parasol. Why?”

Chat nodded. “I think that was Bunnyx, then. She’s got the Rabbit Miraculous, and most of her job is to make sure the timeline doesn’t get messed up too much.” He chuckled sardonically. “I guess I  _ am _ pretty  _ cat- _ astrophic. She must be trying to fix things.” He sighed. “I hope it works.”

“Well, she told us that she would meet us here with more help soon,” Aang offered.

Chat started looking around. The akuma in him whispered that there was no help coming, that the only way to fix anything was to get the Miraculous so he could make a Wish. But he knew Alix- she would wait until the coolest moment to arrive, and based on Aang’s statement… yep, there it was.

A portal opened up and Bunnyx stepped out… along with Ladybug with a metal bowl on her head. Chat stared, right along with everyone else. The akuma in him suddenly roared to life. If Chat had still been alone, he might have attacked right then and there. As it was, it was quite the struggle to suppress what seemed to be instinct. For the first time in a long time he heard his father’s voice-  _ Hawkmoth’s voice _ \- ordering him once more.

_ get the miraculous! obey! _

“My Lady,” he managed to grit out, tears beginning to fall again. “I thought I’d never see you again!” He clenched his hands, keeping his never-ending cataclysm at bay.

“Chat!” Ladybug-  _ Marinette! _ \- cried, knocking the bowl off her head and starting forward. “Oh, my chaton, I’m so…” she trailed off, registering the extra people and the gigantic six-legged creature crowding the roof. “Um…”

Bunnyx came close enough to put a hand on his shoulder. “How are you doing Chat?” she asked gently.

Chat was still breathing deeply, trying to keep the akuma from regaining control. His father’s voice echoed in his head. “N-not good,” he managed. “Please hurry.”

Aang came forward and bowed a little toward Ladybug who awkwardly bowed back. 

“Hello. I’m Avatar Aang, Master of the four elements. These are my friends, with whom I defeated the Firelord and brought peace to our lands. Bunnyx brought us here to help your partner until she could bring you to him. He told us the akuma-thing is in his bell.”

Ladybug’s expression softened. “Thank you, Avatar Aang.” Her gaze met that of everyone else on the roof. “And thank you- all of you.” 

Ladybug looked back at Chat, who had to resist another surge of the akuma within him. He shook with the effort it took to hold himself back.

_ Obey… obey... _

“Okay, Chat. It’s almost over now,” she said softly, stepping back. “Lucky Charm!” 

Something small dropped into her hand. 

“A whistle?” she said, puzzled. “Shaped like a… bison?” 

Chat tried to concentrate on her, tried to block out the voice. Her nose scrunched, just like it always did when she used her Lucky Vision, and then her eyes widened as they fell on the Avatar and his friends, and then on him. Then she shook her head, pig-tails flapping, and Chat Blanc whined in pain, claws digging into his thighs as he kept himself from lunging forward to grab at her earrings. 

_ obey OBEY  _ _ OBEY _

_ You betrayed me! _ He thought back desperately. But it was like his voice was being drowned out, barely heard, unacknowledged.

_ I did it for  _ _ you _ _! NOW OBEY ME! _

Ladybug must have seen the wildness in his eyes, because her expression hardened, yo-yo at the ready. Bunnyx’ hand on his shoulder tightened and Chat latched onto it. She gave him an anchor to hold out against the now raging akuma. It was like a storm within him, growing stronger the closer Ladybug came. He closed his eyes in an effort to cut off the akuma’s perception, and also to concentrate more on resisting.

With a tug at his neck, the akuma in him surged again and then... everything went still. Where before there had been a raging maelstrom, there was only calm. Chat took a shaky breath and opened his eyes. His white bell lay crushed on the roof in front of him.

“Time to de-evilize!” 

He heard the familiar phrase with a surge of relief. A moment more, and Chat felt the corruption that had clung so long to him lift and dissipate. His memories faded with the tainted magic and he closed his eyes, just registering her cry of “Miraculous Ladybug!” before everything went dark.

\----

Chat Noir came back to himself in the middle of a group of distinctly strange folk. A shaggy white beast of a creature hulked in the background, and for a moment he panicked, thinking Mayura had created another sentimonster. The last thing he remembered clearly was cornering Hawkmoth alone for once.

Ladybug’s and Bunnyx’ hands on his shoulders kept him from trying to attack immediately. He looked up into Marinette’s bright blue eyes. “My Lady?” he asked carefully. Despite the fact that they both knew each other’s identities now, they had agreed never to call each other by their civilian names when transformed.

“It’s alright now, Chat. I purified the akuma. But I think there’s a fight you need to finish.”

“Me? What about you?”

Ladybug shook her head, her expression sad. “I’m from the past, and I need to get back to my own time. But don’t worry, these people will help in the fight.” She indicated the group of young people dressed in funny old-fashioned clothes grouped around them. They looked like something out of an anime. “You and Ladybug are about to defeat Hawkmoth once and for all. You’d better find her before he gets the upper hand again.”

Chat was sure there was a mountain of information he was missing, but he shook off the temptation to ask now. If what this Ladybug said was true, he didn’t have time to puzzle it out right now, and she probably wouldn’t tell him anyway.

He got to his feet and surveyed the other teens surrounding him. They looked to be a pretty mixed bag, but that was the case with his own friend-group as Adrien. So… 

“Hey there, my name is Chat Noir, and I’ll be leading you into battle today!” he grinned his trademark cocky grin, trying to seem like he had everything under control.

“... seriously?” a tall girl with shiny black hair asked, in a manner which strongly reminded him of Juleka.

“He doesn’t remember anything that happened while he was akumatized. It’s more of a blessing than a curse, believe me,” the Ladybug who wasn’t his yet said, before turning and walking back toward Bunnyx. “I need to get back before I learn anything I shouldn’t,” she said, and Bunnyx nodded, opening a portal into her burrow and scooping a metal bowl off the rooftop.

In another moment they were gone, leaving Chat with this group of people he didn’t know, who he was supposed to lead into battle. After quick introductions, they all clambered aboard the flying bison- and wasn’t that a crazy concept!- so they could follow him.

Chat checked his baton for Ladybug’s location before heading off. She was at the Eiffel Tower, so he pointed to the iconic landmark and yelled, “Follow me!”

He couldn’t keep from glancing behind him when he heard Aang cry “Appa! Yip, yip!” He almost tumbled from the sloping roof he had landed on when he saw the gigantic creature actually rise into the air like it was a blimp instead of a living thing the size of several elephants. But he shook off his surprise and continued on his way. All along the way he noticed people in the street looking up and pointing, and for once they weren’t pointing at  _ him. _

By the time they made it to the Eiffel Tower, Hawkmoth and Mayura were chasing Maribug all over the Eiffel Tower. Chat was beginning to get hints of what had happened to lead them to the Eiffel Tower in the first place, but thanks to his apparent akumatization, there was a barrier of fog between his consciousness and the feelings that accompanied those events. He knew his father was Hawkmoth, he knew his mother was still alive in the crypt below the mansion, but it was as if that were all true for someone else. 

Chat was scaling the tower to rendezvous with Ladybug when Ladybug suddenly backflipped off the strut he’d spotted her on, Hawkmoth and Mayura appearing just after her leap. Without even thinking, Chat launched himself toward her falling form, grabbing his baton. He caught her like they’d rehearsed it a thousand times, and he slowed their descent with his baton. The backup he’d brought landed not far from them. Maribug stared in astonishment and fear, reaching for her yo-yo to face this new threat, but Chat stopped her.

“Don’t worry, my Lady, they’re here to help.”

“But Chat, they… and you were…”

“I know. Or rather, I don’t know, but I’m okay to fight now. These people aren’t simple civilians. They’ve fought before, and they have unique powers. Trust me on this, okay?”

Maribug looked torn for a moment, but finally nodded. She turned to address the others, who had all descended from the bison. 

“Alright, listen up. I don’t know what all you can do, but we have to finish this  _ now. _ Hawkmoth is the man in purple and black. Mayura is the one in blue. Hawkmoth can and will take advantage of any negative emotions you feel to turn you against us, so think positively. Mayura can create monstrous, soulless creatures to back them up and protect them, so keep a watch for that. Whatever you do,  _ do not let them escape _ .” She turned back to Chat, then tossed something else over her shoulder. “Oh, and since I don’t know your moral codes,  _ no killing. _ Okay?”

“Um, Miss Ladybug?” Toph spoke up, raising her hand in the air. “You know, I could just twist this huge tower up around them…”

“NO!” Chat and Ladybug cried at the same time. 

“I appreciate the offer, but that Tower is a historical landmark, and I can’t fix anything that wasn’t caused by an akuma. Let’s just… leave it be, alright?” Ladybug said, still clutching her heart.

Toph shrugged. “Fine by me.”

Chat looked past her to see the rest of them huddled up, apparently deciding who was going to do what. Aang, Zuko, and Mai all got back on Appa, while the others spread out around and under the tower, moving like they were used to fighting with and relying on each other, keeping a weather eye on the sky. The bison lifted off and began circling the tower.

Chat and Ladybug looked at each other and nodded, then charged for the tower.

It took a while and a few surprises to figure out how best to work with the unfamiliar fighters. Blasts of air and fire came from Aang and Zuko, as well as the occasional hail of stilettos from Mai, spoiling Hawkmoth and Mayura’s attacks and aim. Katara made water shoot like geysers from manholes and the tiles of the plaza became Toph’s personal projectiles. Ty Lee and Suki made it their business to interfere with Mayura, making it nearly impossible for her to back-up Hawkmoth. Once there was even a flying car that came out of nowhere. Meanwhile Chat and Ladybug tried to keep Hawkmoth and Mayura from either getting the upper hand or getting away. Ladybug kept having to stop and purify butterflies before they could infect anyone, and Chat drew her attention to two feathers before the fight was over.

Eventually, Ladybug directed Katara and Toph to create a sinkhole situation under the tower, and at the right moment, the Aang and Zuko forced Hawkmoth and Mayura into their trap with gale force  _ fiery _ winds. Once they were in place, Katara sucked all the water from the mud they’d stumbled into, and Toph made sure the dried earth became rock hard. Ty Lee came in next, hitting several pressure points so they wouldn’t just use their super strength to escape. For good measure, Katara then enveloped both the supervillains in ice before Ladybug and Chat Noir swooped in to liberate their misused Miraculouses.

“I am your  _ father _ ,” Hawkmoth hissed as Chat snatched the butterfly brooch from the front of his suit. He struggled against the ice that held him tight, but without his super-strength, it was a useless effort. “How dare you defy me like this! How dare you betray your mother!”

Chat leaned in close to say, “I used to think you cared about me, but you don’t. You just want your own way, and when you can’t get it, you throw a tantrum like a child.” He scoffed, “And you said  _ I _ was over dramatic.” He backed up, suddenly grinning cheekily. “Well, guess what? Now that the Moth is bawlin’, this Chat’s finally going to get to play!”

“Why, you ungrateful-! Your mother would be ashamed of you!”

“Au contraire, pere, I think it’s you she would be ashamed of. And that goes double for you, Nathalie.”

“It was all for you and Gabriel. You needed her- you needed Emilie back,” Nathalie said, shivering now that her transformation had dropped. 

“What I  _ needed _ ,” Chat said savagely, “was a father who didn’t think that super-terrorism was an great substitute for family counseling. What I  _ needed _ was an adult in my life who would intervene, or inform the authorities, when they discovered their boss was a terrorist, instead of  _ joining _ him.” 

He saw Maribug frowning in concern out of the corner of his eye and turned away in disgust. “Don’t expect me to visit you in prison,” he called back to them as he marched over to the police barricade. 

By this time Appa had landed, though three helicopters still circled the Tower, and the whole area was ringed by police and news vans. Chat was certain he could even spot Nadia Chamack on the other side of the Tower, as he led Lieutenant Raincomprix and a few other officers over to their charges. There was no way Gabriel and Nathalie could avoid exposure. The whole of Paris had seen them unmasked. His father glared at him in impotent fury, still trapped in ice and earth, but at least he had ceased to spout invectives at him. Nathalie simply looked resigned to her fate.

Ladybug asked Katara and Toph to release them, and then they all stood by and watched them be taken away in two different police cars.

“Thank you, all of you,” Ladybug said to the visitors as soon as they were gone. She bowed with great respect. “I don’t know what role you played in saving Chat, but I’m more grateful than I can say. If you ever need help from me or any other miraculous wielder, please don’t hesitate to call on us. I admit, I don’t know how you would reach us, but the offer stands.”

The others all exchanged glances, before approaching, one by one, to give Chat and Ladybug a hug, even Toph. Eventually, they all climbed back onto Appa and took off, even though Toph grumbled about broken promises. Maribug had vetoed her suggestion that she test whether she could identify a superhero when detransformed. 

Chat and Ladybug watched them vanish through another portal that opened up just for them. Then they turned and walked toward the reporters. They had quite the tale to tell.


End file.
